Planting the Municipal Ownership Idea in Port Arthur, 1875–1914 Steven High

Document generated on 09/27/2021 6:55 a.m. Urban History Review Revue d'histoire urbaine Planting the Municipal Ownership Idea in Port Arthur, 1875–1914 Steven High Volume 26, Number 1, October 1997 Article abstract The municipal ownership idea found fertile soil on the rocky north shore of URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1016661ar Lake Superior. The predominance of local land ownership, the absence of large DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1016661ar industrial employers and a small population where religion and ethnicity eased potential class differences created a climate conducive to collective See table of contents action in Port Arthur. The degree of conflict or cooperation that characterized local social relations inevitably extended to the operation of the municipal government and shaped the ways in which citizens perceived their Publisher(s) municipality and its role within the community. This was of paramount importance as Ontario municipal law bound the municipal administration to Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine the will of the majority of the taxpayers by requiring that all money by-laws and franchise agreements be voted upon. The accountability feature of the ISSN Municipal Act, coupled with a convergence of local interests under the rubric of boosterism, convinced Port Arthur residents to pioneer municipal enterprise 0703-0428 (print) in the early 1890s. The creation of one of the first municipally owned and 1918-5138 (digital) operated electric street railways in the world was the innovation of small-scale land owners disillusioned with the boodling habit of the town's elite. The Explore this journal emerging consensus in favour of municipal enterprise was such that by 1901, not even the formidable Bell Telephone Company could dissuade Port Arthur inhabitants. In the process we see that frontier communities like Port Arthur Cite this article did not always accommodate the interests of local elites. Instead of a local populace manipulated by the booster rhetoric of businesspeople and land High, S. (1997). Planting the Municipal Ownership Idea in Port Arthur, developers, this study reveals a remarkable degree of political accommodation, 1875–1914. Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine, 26(1), 3–17. and even the active cooperation of local ratepayers. https://doi.org/10.7202/1016661ar All Rights Reserved © Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine, 1998 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ Planting the Municipal Ownership Idea in Port Arthur, 1875-1914 Steven High Abstract: The municipal ownership idea found fertile soil on the oeuvre de pionniers et à créer des entreprises munici• rocky north shore of Lake Superior. The predominance pales dès le début des années 1890. De petits proprié• of local land ownership, the absence of large industrial taires terriens, déçus par une élite municipale portée sur employers and a small population where religion and eth• les pots-de-vin, innovèrent en créant l'une des premières nicity eased potential class differences created a climate sociétés de tramways électriques au monde à être déte• conducive to collective action in Port Arthur. The degree nue et exploitée par une municipalité. Le consensus nais• of conflict or cooperation that characterized local social sant en faveur de Ventrepreneurial municipal prit une relations inevitably extended to the operation of the ampleur telle qu'en 1901, même la puissante société Bell municipal government and shaped the ways in which Canada n'arrivait plus à attirer les résidents de Port Ar• citizens perceived their municipality and its role within thur. L'étude permet également de constater que les villes the community. This was of paramount importance as On• frontalières comme Port Arthur ne souscrivaient pas sys• tario municipal law bound the municipal administration tématiquement aux intérêts des élites locales. Loin d'être to the will of the majority of the taxpayers by requiring manipulée par la rhétorique du développement des gens that all money by-laws and franchise agreements be d'affaires et des promoteurs fonciers, la population lo• voted upon. The accountability feature of the Municipal cale se montrait remarquablement encline aux compro• Act, coupled with a convergence of local interests under mis politiques et prête à collaborer activement. the rubric of boosterism, convinced Port Arthur resi• dents to pioneer municipal enterprise in the early 1890s. The creation of one of the first municipally owned and The extent of municipal ownership of urban services in Port Ar• operated electric street railways in the world was the in• thur was unequalled anywhere in North America prior to World novation of small-scale land owners disillusioned with War 1. The municipality operated its own street railway, electric the boodling habit of the town's elite. The emerging con• lights, hydroelectric power station, water and sewerage works sensus in favour of municipal enterprise was such that and a telephone exchange. Two of these municipal franchises by 1901, not even the formidable Bell Telephone Company were important innovations at the time: the construction in 1892 could dissuade Port Arthur inhabitants. In the process of an electric street railway and, together with Fort William and we see that frontier communities like Port Arthur did not Kenora, the foundation of a telephone exchange in 1902. Ac• always accommodate the interests of local elites. Instead cording to the statistics compiled by the Ontario Bureau of of a local populace manipulated by the booster rhetoric Labour in 1911 » no other town or city in the province matched of businesspeople and land developers, this study reveals Port Arthur's capital expenditure on its municipal enterprises a remarkable degree of political accommodation, and when waterworks were excluded from the calculation (Table 1 even the active cooperation of local ratepayers. 1). These statistics also indicate that, up to 1911, small and medium sized municipalities invested more capital in real and Résumé : per capita terms than their big city counterparts. To demonstrate this fact, one only has to note that Ontario's two Vidée d'entrepreneuriat municipal trouva un sol fertile major urban centres of the day, Toronto and Hamilton, were not dans lequel s'implanter sur la rive nord du lac Supérieur. among the top twelve municipal ownership towns. In contrast, À Port Arthur, la prédominance de propriétaires terriens J.O. Curwood wrote in Chicago's The Reader in 1907 that: locaux, l'absence d'importants employeurs industriels et une population restreinte, au sein de laquelle religion et etbnisme atténuaient les conflits sociaux potentiels, ont The municipal ownership idea was planted when the cities [of créé un climat favorable aux initiatives collectives. Le de• Port Arthur and Fort William] were mere villages: it has gré d'antagonisme ou de coopération qui caractérisait à developed with the rising generation of children; it has become l'époque les relations sociales au sein des communautés almost hereditary. The new citizen is practically compelled to 2 s'étendait au fonctionnement de l'administration munici• champion municipal ownership because of popular opinion. .. pale et façonnait l'idée que se faisaient les citoyens de leur municipalité et de son rôle au sein de la collectivité. This paper will therefore explore three questions. Why did Port Ceci est d'une importance capitale car en vertu de la loi Arthur residents turn decisively to the municipal ownership of ont arienne sur les municipalités, les conseils municipaux urban services in the 1890s? How did the legal environment influ• étaient liés à la volonté de la majorité des contribuables. ence their decision? Did it really matter whether urban ser• La Municipal Act exigeait en effet que tous les contrats de vices were municipally or privately owned? franchise et règlements administratifs relatifs à des cré• dits fassent l'objet d'un vote. L'aspect « responsabilité fi• Municipal governments in the late Victorian era earned an unen• nancière » de cette loi, associé à la convergence d'intérêts viable reputation for corruption and ethnic and class conflict in locaux regroupés sous la bannière du « développement North American urban historiography. Boosterism, boss politics, économique », incita les résidents de Port Arthur à faire ward healers, ambitious land promoters and elitist municipal 3 Urban History Review /Revue d'histoire urbaine Vol XXVI, No. 1 (October, 1997) Planting the Municipal Ownership Idea in Port Arthur, 1875-1914 Table 1 Antonio Gramsci's conception of hegemony to explain the local Total Investment in Municipal Enterprise convergence of interests that led Port Arthur to become a in Ontario to 1911 pioneer of municipal enterprise in North America. Municipality Total Value ($) Excluding Waterworks The hegemonic status of boosterism, nonetheless, did not al• ways extend to the techniques utilized by urban boosters. His• Port Arthur 972 700 572 700 torian Thorold J. Tronrud is justified in pointing out that the ' Fort William 1 255 824 553 985 public subsidization

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